WiR 2: Stink Bear :) (One-Shot)
by the pixlexic sloth
Summary: After a few looong weeks of being apart and not getting to be together in person, Ralph and Vanellope finally get to share random, playful best friend moments again- as well as sweet, affectionate ones that makes the two bond all the more... and that forever crush fears they both had (contains Wreck-It Ralph 2 spoilers).


**(A/N: After watching " _Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet"_ , I thought up this random little one-shot. It takes places a few weeks after the events in the sequel. Hope all enjoy! (Also, it contains major sequel movie spoilers; you've been warned lol)**

Ten minutes until his Net Phone said it was noon, Wreck-It Ralph stood before the wifi portal, twisting up his large hands around each other over and over in anxiousness. His stomach churning in a like manner, the wrecker scrunched his thick eyebrows down his forehead, an unhidden and impatient nervousness settling over him.

Subconsciously chewing on the inside of his cheek, Ralph found himself leaning over to peer into the dark portal before him, fretting that he had missed even a small glimpse of his best friend coming down the path. Instead, he found the tunnel still ominously empty- and that nothing, particularly _no one_ , was in sight or coming down the path towards the opening leading to the station.

Discouraged and desperate for tranquility, the wrecker sighed through his nose and tried to distract himself from his growing worry by looking around him. He found that the station he was standing in was mostly and oddly desolate despite it being a Saturday. Sure, a few odd characters from a game here and there floated in and out of their game portals or into another- yet the large, _empty_ space somehow still seemed even _more_ lonely to Ralph.

At his observation, the large man abandoned trying to distract himself, finding that it only proved to make his waiting that much more difficult. He decided to silently fish out his Net Phone from the front pocket of his overalls, flipping it open to - _yet again_ \- check the time, and to subconsciously see -once more- if he had somehow missed any calls from her.

Seeing that no much missed calls and that the time was even further creeping along towards noon, Ralph silently shut his phone with one squish of his large fingers. Stuffing the phone in back in the pocket it came from, the wrecker habitually and rapidly began drumming his huge fingers on his sides- getting more and more worry by the minute.

In his gut, Ralph knew she'd come. She _had_ to come.

In second now, she would come bouncing through the portal that connected his home to hers and jump safely right into his strong, protective arms. She'd be so happy to see him- but not nearly as happy as he would be to see her.

Ralph gulped. He could at least _hope_ she'd missed him and be happy to see him.

Regardless, though, she'd come.

He knew - _hoped_ \- deep down she would eventually, at least.

It _had_ been a few weeks since he had seen her in person, after all. A few _loooong_ weeks, where the days never seem to end and time just appears to freeze up.

Yes, the wrecker _had_ tried to keep himself happily and adequately busy in that amount of time. And it had worked for the most part- Ralph _did_ have a lot to fill his time with when he stopped to think about it. (He and the book club, for example, were in the middle of an interesting yet controversial chapter of their reading now, and on top of that, just the other day Calhoun had 'taught' him how to successfully burn _peach_ pie, adding to his list of both apple and cherry.)

But despite all the valuable time he filled spending at the book club or burning pies, Ralph _still_ found himself a little lonely. A lot, even, if he really stopped to think about it.

Sure, in the middle of balancing his job, social life and cooking skills, the child _did_ video chat with Ralph on their Net phones. The two chatted practically every day now, in fact- once in the morning (to watch the sunrise in the arcade together) and once right before they both went to sleep (to bid each other a good night rest). And sometimes -like on such weekends where the arcade was closed and the child's internet game had hit a lull- there were even _more_ calls between the two of them.

Such little phone calls Ralph and his kid made daily had become a happy part of their everyday routine, if each were being truly honest. And sometimes seeing her name pop up on his phone screen was the highlight of his day, if _Ralph_ was being even more honest.

It was a comfort to him, those little phone calls. They reminded him he was still needed to the kid, _his_ kid.

And best of all, it was rare for either Ralph or her to miss a call from the other, and even _rarer_ for one or the other to be too busy to talk for more than a few minutes, perhaps even a few _hours_ on end- pointlessly sharing little gossip about others they both knew here and there, random insults and fart jokes, and/or the daily happenings in their games.

But even when he chatted with her via phone for hours on end, it just wasn't the same to Ralph as being with his best friend in person, hanging out with her in person.

Now Ralph couldn't say he was _miserable_ without seeing her every day of his life- not at all. He could openly admit he was happy, _content_ , even maybe, without having his little sister glued his side.

He had honestly been shocked to find out that he was strong enough to live a separate life from her, and that he could get through the days, get through his job as a bad guy, even.

Yes, Ralph found he could live a part of his life _outside_ of Vanellope von Schweetz.

But that didn't need that was always _easy_ for him to.

It didn't mean Ralph didn't _miss_ his kid, his little sister, his Fart Feathers just a little _tiny bit_ while she was gone, either.

Or miss her _a lot_ even, if he paused to think about her too much...

Gulping back an uncertain knot forming in his throat, Ralph looked at his Net Phone again. 11:55.

Vanellope would come. She would. It was just a matter of when.

Well, admittedly, not really a matter of _when_ , since the two of them agreed noon on a Saturday would be the best time for Vanellope to venture out of the internet and join him back in the arcade to stay with Ralph for the rest of the weekend.

It was more of Ralph had shown up 15 minutes...maybe technically 20 minutes...ok, _a full half an hour_ before the agreed time to meet her, just in the offhand chance Vanellope decided to come a little earlier than expected. If that were to happen, Ralph wanted to be there and be ready to welcome her back to the arcade with open arms.

But of course _. Of course_ the child hadn't come quite as earlier as Ralph had honestly thought, wished and hoped she would- not giving him a least a tiny bit extra time to spend with her before she had to go back to the internet tomorrow morning.

Life just wasn't fair that way sometimes.

And now Ralph stood waiting and waiting, getting antsier and antsier as the time painfully and slowly ticked by.

Vanellope would come, he knew. He just had to be patient- and trust she'd get here safely. She'd find her way through the Internet just fine, get to the arcade just fine-

 _Oh, Sage's sakes,_ Ralph suddenly panicked, distressedly peering further into the bare wifi tunnel as he ran a worried hand through his hair, irrational thoughts beginning to race through his mind- _yet again._

 _What if something did happen to Vanellope on the way here, though- and I just don't know about it?! What if she got lost, or hurt, or worse-?!_ Ralph stressed before he felt himself fill with worried rage as he turned away from facing the wifi portal altogether. _I swear, if I find out Shank didn't walk that kid to the portal like she promised she would and it ends up Fart Feathers did get kidnapped or something, so help me- I'm giving her just a minute after noon, just a minute, and if at 12:01 Vanellope isn't here yet, Imma get Surge involved and we're sending out a stinking SEARCH PARTY if we have to to find that child-_

"RALPH!" an excited cry exclaimed near the end of the internet tunnel, right before the owner of the voice came sprinting into the station- breaking up Ralph's protective thoughts completely.

At hearing his name, and the familiar raspy voice saying it, Ralph turned back towards the wifi portal to see a small ball of mint green sweater and raven black hair seeming to be flying towards him.

" _Kid_!" Ralph elatedly cried back, happily catching the child with ease in his outstretched arms as she jumped into them. He held her up in his hands to smile widely into her matching happy face, all of his worries and anger completely washed away at seeing Vanellope was completely safe- and in his arms where she belonged.

Melting slightly at the overwhelming happy emotions filling his heart, the large man gave the little child a hearty hug -a little tighter than he really meant to, but Vanellope didn't mind- and held her up in his hands again.

"I thought you were _never_ going to come, Fart Feathers!" he exclaimed truthfully.

In his hands, Vanellope just blew a playful raspberry and rolled her eyes dismissiveness yet teasingly in reply.

"Whatcha talkin' about, Stink Brain?" she mocked as she wiggled slightly in his hands to get more comfortable. "I'm right on time! I would say I'm ' _punctual_ ', " she suddenly smirked at him, "but I knew that'd be too big of a word for ya to understand."

Playfully narrowing his eyes back at her, Ralph faked a laugh.

"Hardy har. I'm pretty sure you're late, though, kid!" he countered. "In fact, I'm hundred and ten percent you're _wrong_!"

Ever loving to prove the man had goofed up yet again, Vanellope lower her eyelids at him, a smirk spreading wide across her face as she still hung loosely in his arms.

"You sure enough about that to place a _bet,_ Major Body Odor?" she cocked her head at him, batting her large, beautiful, happy hazel eyes at him.

Ralph just smirked confidently back at the child in his arms, happiness clearly glowing in his own eyes.

It was _this_ kind of banter that he and Vanellope just couldn't do as effectively over the phone.

"Pretty sure, kid," he eyed her with a mock look of interest. "Whatcha willing to bet?"

"Hmmm...a nice, cold one at _Tapper's_ sounds pretty good right about now," she countered, pretending to think over the matter as she tapped her chin and her large eyes wondered thoughtfully. "I haven't had a root beer in weeks- a _good one_ , anyway."

She paused to finally eye him back playfully. "How's 'bout this? Whoever wins the bet has to pay for _both_ of our drinks," she confirmed with a greedy smile. "Fair enough?"

"Oh, you're _soo_ on, kid," Ralph boasted confidently, using one large hand to gently cradle her against his chest as his other hand dug around in his front pocket for his phone. "We'll both flip up our phones at the same time to see what time it really is. Ready?"

" _Wait_!" Vanellope screeched as she dug around in her hoodie pocket for her own phone, then held it up posed and ready. "Ready!"

" _1_..."

" _2_...

" _2 and a half_..."

"C'mon, Stink Brain! Just say ' _3_ ' already!"

"Alright, alright... _3!!_!"

"Open 'em!" both friends cheered together as they flipped up the tops of their small, hexagon-shaped phones, seeing both screens pixelated and projected up- and that both phones glowed that it was straight up noon.

" _Ha_!" Vanellope crowed as she glitched onto Ralph's shoulder and noogied his head and hair gently. "I believe you owe _me_ a cold one, Ralphie!"

Holding back the urge to gawk, Ralph forced himself to hide his shock that it was really just noon.

It felt it like should be _midnight_ , what with all the worry and anguish she caused him as he had waited so long for the child to come bouncing into the arcade.

But Vanellope didn't necessarily need to know all that.

"Oh please, I was going to pay for your drink, anyways," Ralph brushed it all off a joking manner...oddly even though it was indeed true.

At her place on his shoulder, Vanellope just smirked down at him and chuckled gently, seeming to sense that he wasn't lying this time.

After a moment of a happy, awkward pause between the two, the child's cheeks began to flush and glow a deeper shade of red. Eyeing him sheepishly, the girl then quickly and suddenly pushed her face up against Ralph's cheek, rubbing her nose gently up against him.

"I kinda missed you, just a tiny, little bit, Stink Brain," she mumbled softly and affectionately by his ear, nuzzling him gently.

A little taken back by her confession and affection, Ralph forced himself to gulp back a larger, more comforting knot forming in his throat. Smiling widely, he just nuzzled the child back as he reached up and rubbed her hair gently.

It meant so much to him... _relieving_ him, really...to hear her admit that first.

"Yeah, well- I guess I missed ya a little bit, too, Fart Feathers," he admitted as he rolled his eyes at her, pushing her face a little further from his with two extremely big yet gentle knuckles. He chuckled gently as she playfully pushed his knuckles away from her.

Although he loved the nostalgic feeling coming over him and the light pressure of Vanellope being safely perched on his shoulder, Ralph then softly plucked her from her place and sat her back onto the station's floor.

Once Vanellope was on the ground, Ralph found himself standing back and fondly taking in the sight of his little kid best friend standing before him finally.

To his secret surprise, his little tom-boy Vanellope looked the pretty much the exact same as when he saw her a few weeks ago in person- an honest, hidden concern he had seemed to worry so much about in her absence.

But the child appeared to be the same in most respects- her hair was still up in its signature high-top ponytail (although it looked to be pulled up a little bit nicer and cleaner than before, which Ralph presumed was due to Shank taking a big-sister-like interest of the child while she resided in _Slaughter Race_ ). Vanellope, too, was still sporting her comfortable mint green sweatshirt, brown ruffled shirt, and tights- although Ralph _did_ notice that her tights actually _matched_ now, the stripes they had on them were the same color and going the same direction. He could only imagine that Yess had spoken to the child and probably told her that the mismatch tight she usually wore was considered "fashion suicide".

But that all-too-familiar over-bite Vanellope had, the childish, energetic light in her still beautiful large eyes, the look on her round face like she was ready to go anywhere, see anything with Ralph by her side...

 _Those_ were the things about his Fart Feathers Ralph knew would _never_ change.

Yet, as he peered unspokenly at her for a split second longer...Ralph could swear that something else was off about her overall appearance, but he just couldn't put a finger on what it could be.

Something obvious enough to be noticed, but not enough to be seen or identified quickly...

Suddenly spreading a benevolent, wide smile, Ralph finally realized what it must be different about Vanellope's appearance.

"Yeesh," he breathed out, a longing, fond look freely overtaking his face as he placed his large hands on his hips. "You've _grown_ a few inches since the last time I saw ya in person, kid!"

Doubling over in an over-exasperated laugh, Vanellope shook head her head flippantly as she mockingly slapped her knee at his 'observation'.

"Ralph... you literally saw me in person just _a few weeks ago!_ " She told him ridiculously as she straightened up. "That was not long enough for me to 'grow'! Besides," she then waved his false assumption off as she cocked her head to the side in a cutesy way, "I'm programmed to stay my small, cute self forever and always!"

Scratching his forehead, Ralph twisted up his face slightly in confusion at her denial.

If she hadn't grown any, what was so annoying unknown to be different about Vanellope's appearance then?

" _Something's_ different about you, kid..." Ralph wondered out loud to her, leaning down a little to peer closer at her. "What _is it?"_

Vanellope just rolled her eyes up at him, shoving her hands into her sweatshirt pocket as she just shook her head again- her guess as good as his.

"Welp, I'll be over in _Tapper's_ when ya figured it out, Detective," Vanellope then told him, saluting him with two fingers to the forehead much like Shank would as the child spun on her heels and headed over towards the root beer game not too many portals away.

As she skipped away from him, it was only then did Ralph finally spot what was different about her: her _back_.

Well, more specifically, the glittery, dark purple backpack she _wore_ on her back.

"Wait...," he called after she as he took off, jogging after Vanellope to catch up with her. "I _know_ that backpack wasn't with ya before."

As he tripped over his feet a little bit where Vanellope had paused in walking, Ralph stumbled past her and saw the straps on the little, child-size backpack over her shoulders.

 _That's_ what was buggingly different about her appearance: those straps in the front connected to the backpack on her back.

"Hm?" Vanellope wrinkled her face slightly at Ralph before eyeing over her shoulder. "Oh yeah- Yess lent this backpack to me for the weekend. To hold all my stuff I'd need," she told him impassively as she shrugged a little, latching a hand over each strap of the little bag on her back.

"Ah," Ralph smiled softly, ruffling her hair gently again. "That makes sense why I didn't recognize it. It's a cool backpack, kid."

"Thank- I mean, _Shank_ you, hehe," Vanellope corrected herself with a small laugh. She pointedly eyed up at him again as she then motioned mockingly down the station towards _Tapper's_. "Now on with my root beer, _my royal chump!_ "

After Ralph paused to roll his eyes once more, he instinctively scooped up Vanellope and placed her on his shoulder.

"You _technically_ can't boss me around like that anymore, ya know," he joked, "since, you know, you're no longer the _president of a game."_

Vanellope just snorted at his comment, swinging her legs a little as she sat happily on his shoulder.

"Like I need some _dumb title_ to tell me if I can commands orders or not," she rolled her eyes and shook her head down at him.

At her words, Ralph couldn't help but half-smile. Somethings _never_ changed.

The two trudged along in a peaceful silence for a moment -Vanellope bobbing slightly on his shoulder as Ralph mosied towards the portal for _Tapper's_ \- before Ralph tried to make conversation again.

"Say, how _is_ Yess, Shank, and the gang doin', by the way?" he asked the child upon his shoulder.

"Oh, all the same," she responded, "Yess is busy as usual, Shank is _awesome_ as usual," she gushed happily. "Oh- and I _totally_ wiped out Pyro in a basketball battle. It was pretty epic."

Ralph snorted quietly back and smirked straight ahead. "Huh-uh. I'm sure with _you_ being involved it was epic...epically _lame_."

He instinctively ducked out of Vanellope's way before she could 'attempt' to give him a black eye with a swift punch of a tiny clenched fist- although Ralph knew the child could never _really_ hurt him.

Well, _physically_ , anyway.

Mockingly smirking at her again as she grimaced playfully back, the wrecker eyed the dark purple bag on her back.

"You sure you got everything you need for the weekend?" he confirmed as he shrugged his shoulder gently to get Vanellope's attention towards her bag.

Her frisky grimace disappearing, Vanellope's face lit up. "Yup! I think so!"

She swung her arms out of the bag's straps -somehow not accidentally clocking Ralph right in the face- and clenched it safely in her hands. Ralph paused in walking as the kid on his shoulders unzipped the round-topped bag and peered inside, finding himself peering closer to see inside the bag himself.

"I got my nightshirt," she mentioned as she continued to carefully dig around a little in the tote. "And my hairbrush, my toothbrush... an _extra_ pair of cozy socks, 'cause, you know, your stupid shack is so stinkin' _drafty_..."

At her dig, Ralph was about to pretend to get mad and noogie her again...but then he completely abandoned the idea when something inside her bag suddenly caught his eye.

Something that looked to be soft, fuzzy and dark...and something he'd never seen before.

"Hey," he began curiously as he tried to get a better look at the object inside the bag. "What's that brown thing there, kid?"

All at once, Vanellope's eyes suddenly lost their playfulness, the ease they had only seemed to truly ever get around Ralph, completely gone.

The child abruptly glitched frantically and clumsily back to the ground, startling Ralph to say the least. He eyed her in confusion, asking her solely with his eyes why her sudden, strange behavior.

On the floor once again, Vanellope only got that more tense and uncomfortable as she quickly grabbed the mouth of the bag and squeezed it tightly shut. Clutching the whole bag protectively, she held it desperately close to her small, slightly heaving chest.

 _"N-nothing!_ It's nothing!" she insistently denied, her large eyes wide and almost scared looking.

Shaking his head slightly down at her, Ralph immediately began to feel _more_ than a little uneasy.

Before her, he then sighed softly and blankly stared at Vanellope for a solid moment before eyeing her and her strange behavior cautiously.

"Uh, that most definitely is _not_ just 'nothing'," Ralph countered somehow mildly yet leerily, leaning down a bit closer to the weary child. "What _is_ that, kid?"

"What is what?"

"That fuzzy thing in your bag."

"I don't have a fuzzy thing in my bag."

"Yes, you _do_! I just _saw_ it!"

"Saw what?"

"THAT BROWN THING!"

"That brown what?"

"THAT- THAT _THING_! I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS! YOU TELL ME."

"Tell you what?"

"ARG!" Ralph finally roared loudly, standing back up to his towering height.

At his outburst, the few stray characters that were lumbering in the station turned to stare wearily -making Vanellope even that much jumpier- before they all just shrugged and continued on their way.

"Vanellope, I'm not playing this stupid game with you!" the wrecker growled down at her, beyond annoyed- and anxiously worried.

"I'm not playing any game...," Vanellope tried to tell him as she batted her eyes at him innocently, but she well knew _he we_ _ll_ knew the truth.

Vanellope was hiding something from Ralph.

And that he couldn't handle that disturbing fact- and would stop at nothing until she told him the truth.

"Tell me what that thing is in your bag," Ralph finally hissed strongly at her, "or _I'll_ find out myself."

"But-but I can't just _tell_ you or-or _show_ you what it is!" Vanellope suddenly cried, shrinking up a little in obvious worry and distress.

Feeling himself shrink a little himself, Ralph eyed her up and down in uncertainty- a growing knot forming in his stomach.

If he couldn't stand one thing, it was some kind of secrets. _Especially_ ones that excluded him from knowing. _Especially_ especially ones that were from Vanellope.

"Why _can't_ you?!" he suddenly barked sharply at her, filled with renewed anger.

He didn't care _how_ desperate or intrusive he sounded then.

Ralph had _not_ waited weeks for his kid's return just for her to hide something from him.

"Because...because I _just_ can't, ok?" Vanellope choked out, her eyes all too glossy as she quickly rubbed them dry.

She then resorted to defending herself and tried to glare harshly up at him. "It's not any of your _business_ , anyways."

Sniffling softly and wringing the straps of her bag, Vanellope then stared down at the floor in a strange sort of shame- suddenly looking smaller to Ralph than he had ever seen her.

Seeing how tiny -and scared- she looked then, hearing the wobble in her raspy voice...it was enough for the gently hearted man to feel bad for growling at her like he did, and it was almost enough to make him apologize for being so pushing about it all...

Maybe Vanellope was right- maybe it _was_ none of Ralph's business. He didn't need or have to know _everything_ about her life, after all.

And if she really didn't what him to know what the brown fuzzy thing she had was, and was _this_ adamant about it, then Vanellope had every right not to tell him for whatever the reason was, Ralph supposed...

But then again- if it was _this_ big of a deal to Vanellope for Ralph not to know what the fuzzy brown thing is, then he certainly _must_ know what it is.

Some secrets just aren't best kept to one and only one person, after all. It could be for Vanellope's best interest to spill the beans on what the item in her bag was!

Feeling completely torn in two -parentally pressing the matter further or 'best friend'-ingly just letting it go- Ralph sighed heavy heartedly and rubbed his forehead with two giant fingers.

"You're right," he finally admitted softly to Vanellope, kneeling down to her level as his once rubbing hand laid gently down on his bend knee. "What you brought with you _is_ none of my business. But...if you can't let me see it, or at least _tell_ me what it is, why did you bring it, whatever it is, with you in the _first_ place, kid?" he asked her sincerely.

"Because...because...I j-juSt _diiid_ , ok?" she growled defensively at him, her voice now uneven as she started to glitch involuntarily due to the toll the conversation was taking on her.

Ralph couldn't help but wince. He _hated_ when she glitched all scared and uncontrollable and _distressingly_ like that.

"Ok, ok!" he held his hands up in the air in surrender, now willing to do whatever it took to make Vanellope feel at ease again. "You don't have to tell me anything, ok?... But, kid..."

The wrecker sighed long enough to look away from her sniffling form before looking gently back at her.

He figured he could at least settle one possible fear she might be having.

"Just... just know you _can_ tell me if you ever need to. You can tell me _anything_ you need to, in fact- and I won't judge you for it. Ok?" he told her sincerely -and invitingly- as he tenderly lifted her chin up with one giant bent finger so she'd be looking at him in the eye.

After a tiny, kind nod in her direction, the man stood up and was about to walk on, letting the whole thing go when-

"Oh, alright, _alright_!" Vanellope finally caved, childishly stomping her foot as she let her shoulders slump a little in defeat. "I'll _tell_ you already!"

Spinning on his large heels, Ralph spun around to face her- a huge smile on his cheeks.

He _knew_ deep down she would eventually. She _had_ to.

Sighing, and clearly irritated at Ralph's elated respond at her eminent confession, the child rolled her head upwards over-exaggeratedly.

Suddenly then frantically looking around them, her fear alleviated to see now that no one else was in sight, the child tiptoed over Ralph's leg. She then peered up at him with large, worried eyes.

"But...but can you promise to keep a _secret_?" she whispered to him, her voice incredibly soft as her little hands remained gripped on the backpack's straps close to her. Looking at him straight in the eye with all the hope in the world she could muster up, Vanellope then bit her lip gently.

 _Ah- so it is a secret, _Ralph thought cockily to himself as he knelt down to her level once more. _A secret_ _I_ _get to know now._

Gently brushing her wispy bangs away from her downcasted face, the man felt his ego calm down a bit as he smiled inviting at her again, pulling her a tad closer.

"Cross my heart and hope for burnt pie!" he told her jokingly as he pushed the tip of her nose with one large finger.

Despite still being a little despondent, Vanellope was able to laugh half-heartedly.

Sighing once more and forlornly peering into her bag one last time, she blinked back Ralph, her eyes penetrated with uncertainty.

"Ok, well...," the child began as she looked away, her eyes suddenly filling with ease and fondness as she peered off dreamfully. "I _totally_ love _Slaughter Race_! I mean, it's so cool and epic and-"

"Kid, if this 'secret' is just about how cool your new game is," Ralph chuckled and rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "I think the 'secret' has spread and everyone knows by now-"

"No, no! That's not it!" Vanellope told him quickly, shaking her head softly before looking down again, her eyes filled with a strange longing that Ralph had never seen before.

"It's just...well, as _amazing_ as _Slaughter Race_ is...My bed there...It just isn't _quite_ as comfy as the one I had in _Sugar Rush_ was," she finally stuttered out gingerly, blushing softly as she used one of her hands to tuck her bangs behind her ear.

Twisting her bag's straps tightly again, the child continued, avoiding Ralph's glaze by all means possible now as he leaned a bit closer to hear her better.

"And although the gang has helped me get little more comfortable in my new bed," she mumbled out, "I still...well, I still sometimes... kinda sorta have-"

But she was cut off by Ralph gently placed a large finger on her lips, reframing her from continuing. His eyebrows scrunching down in uneasy concern for her, the gentle-hearted man eyed Vanellope worriedly.

In a strange intuition only a parent-like best friend could have, the wrecker knew _exactly_ just what the child was then thinking and what she was about to say next- although his gut stabbed at him for it.

Taking a quick look all around them himself to see if anyone was in hearing distance, Ralph gulped back another growing knot in his throat. Lifting Vanellope's chin up again so that she had to look at him in the face, his eyes virtually _begged_ her not to confirm what he was about to say for her.

"Vanellope...," he softly began to whisper quietly and delicately. "Are you... are you still having... _nightmares_?"

Just at the single mention of the word, Vanellope visibly winced before him, squishing up her eyes tightly as her grip on the bag's straps got even stronger.

"Yes...," she finally answered, her voice clearly filled with shame and contempt as she stared downward.

At her dreaded confirmation, Ralph closed his eyes briefly and nodded in painfully deep understanding for her- wishing more than anything in the world that the fact that Vanellope still had nightmares wasn't indeed true.

He well knew that she had them _so badly_ while she lived here in the arcade, though. The poor kid had suffered through so much- and even after 6 years, those painful memories just couldn't quite be replaced or erased by better ones.

And he well knew, too, just exactly what the nightmares caused by those memories did to his kid.

They were nightmares that made a tough child like Vanellope frantically twist and cry and shutter in pain and fear. Ones that forced her awake in the middle of the night, sobbing, _bawling_. Ones that broke down her strong facade as she'd stumble out of _Sugar Rush_ and into _Fix-It_ _Felix Jr_. Ones that made her panic and glitch and fret- all up until she knew her hero, Ralph himself, was actually indeed safe and ok.

They were nightmares that _no little girl,_ no matter how strong or impassive they appear, should have to deal with all alone.

The intrusive nightmares and memories were things that Vanellope sought to keep mostly hidden and concealed, kept _secret_ , really, from everyone else.

She didn't want anyone in the arcade to paint her as weak or as a 'diaper baby', as a childish coward for dealing, _battling_ her demons at night. Besides, she knew, none would really _care_ about her bad dreams- or _understand_ how real they were to her, even, anyways.

Her nightmares were so hush-hush, in fact, that no one else in the entire arcade -not even the Fix-It couple or the other racers in _Sugar Rush_ \- really ever knew about the night terrors plaguing the child...

Except for her hero and best friend, Wreck-it Ralph.

Vanellope knew Ralph was the only one who cared about her enough to care about her nightmares, never pegging her as weak or as a coward for having them affect her the way they did. He, too, well understood the bad dreams she had like no one else ever could...because he himself had lived through them at one point, too.

The guarded child knew and trusted Ralph so much, in fact, that she one day just openly exposed her bad dreams to him- and, after he took great concern over her, she then allowed him to see her when the nightmares were plaguing her at their absolute worse.

At that point, she began to only run to _his_ game after particularly rough nightmares, raced only into _his_ stupid and drafty shack, jump only into _his_ bed, cry only on _his_ shoulder, have only _him_ hold her and cradle her and protect her time and time again.

In all honesty, Ralph got to see a side of Vanellope he knew only _he_ ever got to see.

And that simple fact moved him deeply.

The second he found out about them, Ralph felt was _his_ sole responsibility to chase all of Vanellope's nightmares away- _wreck_ them, if only he could.

But he unfortunately knew that the nightmares his best friend had were made of things his clenched, strong mighty fists just couldn't reach- lasting, scarring images of a King Candy Cy-Bug monster, hanging Ralph over the Diet Cola Mountain as he sought to kill him...

Images that even after 6 years were still apparently so fresh to Vanellope's mind eye. And ones that were extremely hard for her to embarrassingly, shamefully talk about- even with Ralph himself.

Ralph knew that was nothing he could do to remove those lasting pictures from his kid's mind...all he really could do was hold Vanellope, clumsy cradle her gently, keep her close to him, calmingly speaking to her- and hope more than even she did that the memories and the nightmares they caused would finally somehow be tucked away in the corner of her mind where they belonged.

And over the past few years, when the nightmares were especially bad, the wrecker always somehow accomplished just that- making Vanellope feel beyond safe in his arms...and making him her 'go-to' for help and comfort and reassurance during such terrifying bad dreams...

Which was partly why Ralph was so worried about the kid's decision to live in the internet and in _Slaughter Race._

What if Vanellope woke up from a horrible nightmare and needed him- only _him-_ knowing that he wasn't just a few portals over now? What would she do then?

And what if Vanellope's too strong of an ego caused her to never tell Shank when she had woken up from a bad dream, not ever wanting the older woman she looked up to so much to think any less of her? To think she was weak or a 'diaper baby'?

And even if she _did_ tell her about the bad dreams, what if Shank couldn't help Vanellope in any way?

Not the way Ralph _alone_ seemed to?

What if without Ralph there with her, Vanellope just laid in her bed, and cried and cried and cried- so scared, so upset...

 _So alone?_

After he had said goodbye to Vanellope in person so she could live in _Slaughter_ _Race_ , Ralph had honestly spent those next few nights admittedly wide awake, worrying about such unanswered questions. He'd toss and turn, fretting about how Vanellope was holding up at night in her game- so far away from him now.

Ralph had even vowed to himself to always keep his Net Phone safely tucked in his overall pocket as he tried to get some sleep, ever ready to bolt up and go into the Internet if Vanellope were to call him, needing him to help her get through the night full of unpleasant dreams.

But when week upon week had passed, and he hadn't gotten just one phone call from her at night...And maybe because Vanellope had never mentioned them to him before when they _did_ chat over the phone...

Whatever the case, Ralph had just begun to assume then that when Vanellope began to live _Slaughter Race,_ her mind-stopping, gut-wrenching, full-blown nightmares that had afflicted her for so long now...

Had stopped suddenly and abruptly ended. Completely and happily gone forever.

Which, in all honesty, had given Ralph peace of mind and much better rest at night.

But now... with Vanellope standing in front of him with her eyes full of embarrassment and fear and sadness about the night terrors _still_ apparently plaguing her...

Of course. _Of course_ Ralph's hopeful assumption had been wrong. _Of course_ Vanellope hadn't been magically cured when she went to live in _Slaughter Race_ and still had nightmares- but now without Ralph by her side to help her through them.

Life just wasn't fair that way sometimes.

But...but maybe that didn't mean that _all_ her nightmares were necessary-

"Bad ones?" Ralph pressed Vanellope gently then, not wanting to damage what little pride she had left. "Like...the _bad_ bad nightmares you used to have here?"

Staring solely at the floor with her chin tucked way too close to her neck, Vanellope somehow managed to slowly nod her head.

"Sometimes..."

Sighing once more, Ralph gently reached over and began to affectionately stroke Vanellope's soft hair for a moment, eyeing the child with beyond understanding eyes.

"Are they about- about... the same old stuff?" he fragilely egged her on further as he continued to mindlessly play with her ponytail- bringing more comfort to himself than her.

"Well, sometimes they are..." Vanellope answered him softly, wiping her nose with her sleeve as she raised her head up a tiny bit. "But here lately...they've been a little different...a little _worse,_ actually..."

"How- how are they _worse_?" Ralph croaked as he urged her - _begged_ her, really- to tell him, swallowing the huge lump now taking resistance in the back of his throat.

"Well... let's just say _you've_ kinda taken over them, Ralphie," she shocked him by saying gingerly. "In a _bad_ way..."

Eyeing her distressingly, Ralph shook his head in slight confusion, not understanding what she meant.

As he did, Vanellope tried to smile weakly at him before it finally collapsed, her eyes just seconds from releasing the sea they were clearly holding back. She shakily wiped her eyes, seeking to hide her scared, fragile tears the best she could- in a strange way _forgetting_ what it felt like to know she never needed to around Ralph.

"I sometimes dream...that the clones, _your_ clones," she slowly exclaimed, her chest starting to heave slightly. "They- they squeezed you too tight...an-and I couldn't get them to stop..."

Swallowed by pure guilt and grief, Ralph hung his down in shame as she spoke.

How could he have been so stupid- not only to release that security virus in _Slaughter Race_ to begin with -and to allow the virus to escape, find him and cause Ralph to multiply...but _also_ to think all his stupid clones hadn't caused complete emotional trauma to his little Vanellope?

Of course. _Of course_ his one stupid decision just weeks ago had caused her unrelenting pain, distress and panic... and _now_ bad dreams about what could've really happened to him.

Life just wasn't fair like that sometimes.

"And the clones...," Vanellope continued to choke out, her voice cracking as her built-up tears quickly became a free sob. "...Th-they _killed_ you, and...And there was nothing I could do to save you...and-and..."

Unable to take her gut-wrenching cry any longer, Ralph finally looked at her in the face once again- and interruptedly told her what he almost routinely did after one of her nightmares up until a few weeks ago.

"Hey, kid!" he cooed gently, his voiced seeping with a tenderness mostly unseen by everyone else as he pulled her close again. "C'mon, that _didn't_ happen- not any more than King Candy actually killing me happened."

Ralph then softly cupped her wobbly chin up with giants fingers from one hand and softly wiped away her tears with the other hand. "Those are just bad dreams, that's all!"

Still sniffling, Vanellope nodded strongly at him and gulped roughly as she wiped at her eyes again.

"I know. I know they are," she confirmed quickly before her eyes took on an even stronger darkness as they peered deeply into Ralph's. "But...but that doesn't mean that they don't feel any less _real,_ you know?"

Blinking slowly back at her trembling body, into her terrified, revealingly wide eyes, Ralph compassionately yet helplessly nodded back at her.

His little sister, his best friend...his tiny kid was having terrorizingly real nightmares- and was having to deal with them all alone, as he had feared.

And with her living so far away now, there was virtually _nothing_ Ralph could do to help her or chase away those horrible bad dreams.

"Most nights I can just go back to sleep by myself," Vanellope precariously continued quickly, shaking Ralph from his protective, agonizing thoughts. "And-and I don't _need_ any help. But other times...I-I..."

Standing close to him, the child sighed and looked forlouningly up at Ralph again- causing a whole new wave of pain to wash over him.

"I honestly wish I was back in _Sugar Rush_ , havin' bad dreams about dumb ole' King Candy," she admittedly muttered out, a hint of a despondent growl in her tone before it grew softer and softer. "Because then...I could run to your game... and crawl in your bed...with you..."

Vanellope found her eyes drift to where one of Ralph's large, strong hands laid idled on his bent knee. In true, innocent fondest, the child gently set her bag down at her feet and grabbed on to each side of his hand, pulling it closer to her.

"You'd _always_ be there," she commented tearfully, rubbing her thumbs warmly over the sides of his mighty hand as her eyes lightened despite the tears in them. "You'd _always_ be ready to snuggle me in and chase my nightmares away for the night and hold me in your big, cozy, safe hands where the stupid bad dreams can't get to me."

But all at once her eyes got dark and depressed again, filled with sadness as she gripped Ralph's hand a little harder.q

"But now...I can't just run to your game anymore, to _you_ anymore," she told Ralph in gloom. "I can't just run from the internet to get here in the arcade, _especially_ at so late at night."

As Ralph rubbed her back consolingly, Vanellope suddenly chuckled and looked at him fondly with a small smile.

"I think you'd _kill_ me if I ever tried to do that on my own," she told him jokingly- although she knew all too well just how protective Ralph really was over her.

In order to at least make her smile slightly grow, Ralph chuckled himself and gently nudged her cheek with his fingers again.

"You can _bet_ I would, kid," he told her in a mock serious tone, earning the desired half-smile and chuckle he wanted from her.

His own smile, though, fell again as Vanellope continued to massage his hand sadly- both close friends then sharing in a strange longing for a former time when their games were a little bit closer in distance.

"So...what do you do?" Ralph asked her sincerely. "When the nightmares are really bad, I mean."

"Well, I actually had talked to Shank about them," Vanellope admitted, causing Ralph's eyebrows to shoot up in shock as she stuffed her hands down into her hoodie pocket. "Mostly just 'cuz we're bunk-bed mates, you know," the child quickly rushed on, trying to gage Ralph's reaction to this news.

When he just slightly nodded for her to continue on, Vanellope blushed lightly as she explained.

"She had heard me crying one night after a really bad one, and we talked about it and stuff, well, after that...when the nightmares are really bad, well,...she lets me crawl into bed with her. Which, she's actually pretty _cool_ with," Vanellope quickly reassured Ralph with another half smile and an embarrassed shrug of her small shoulders.

At her comforting words about Shank, Ralph couldn't help but feel his eyes drift away from where Vanellope stood. A small, shocked smile surfaced on his face as a strange feeling came over him- and he was surprised to find it wasn't jealousy.

He wasn't at all envious at hearing Vanellope had told Shank something she had only ever shared in secret with him. In fact, the child telling Shank about her dreaded bad dreams didn't bother Ralph in the slightest.

Shank freely stepping in and helping his little sister (well, Ralph guessed, their now admittedly _shared_ little sister) when Ralph himself couldn't be there to do so...

That meant the _absolute_ _world_ to Ralph to hear- and he couldn't help but feel forever grateful and indebted to the hard-core yet kind woman for being there for Vanellope when the child needed someone the most.

Ralph's appreciative thoughts towards Shank were put on hold suddenly, though, when he felt a slight pressure on top of the hand of his that Vanellope had been stroking.

Looking towards Vanellope again, the wrecker's heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he saw that she had laid her whole head upon his hand. Rubbing her cheek and eyes onto his hand like a tiny, scared kitten finding true, unrelenting comfort, the child's eyes were tightly squeezed shut, allowing cold tears to leak from them and sting as they landed on Ralph's hand.

"But...but as great as Shank is," Vanellope suddenly whispered, gasping slightly as she admitted the truth, "she's- she's still not _you_ , Stink Brain."

Feeling his heart stop beating then rapidly begin to pound so hard it could explode, Ralph gulped back his own tears.

He then realized the deep meaning behind Vanellope's words.

That although she undoubtedly loved her new life in _Slaughter Race,_ loved her new, admittedly close friendship with Shank, and didn't regret her decision to live in the internet...nothing, _absolutely nothing_ could replace Ralph in Vanellope's life.

That no one else could ever or will ever become as close to her as Ralph was, as _loved_ as he was in her eyes...And that no one could ever be a substitute for the unselfish, free, protective love he gave her.

By her simple words, Vanellope revealed that she still needed Ralph, wanted him in her life- and always would, he then came to know.

He never had to fear he'd be forgotten by her, abandoned by her...that she never _would_ come...

And maybe, despite the crazy, fast pace world Vanellope now lived in, maybe it wasn't _always_ easy to distract herself from Ralph's absence. Maybe sometimes she was still a little lonely without him- maybe even _a lot_. Maybe seeing Ralph's name pop up on her net phone was the highlight for _her_ some days- but even _she_ chatted with him via phone for hours on end, it just wasn't the same to Vanellope as being with her best friend in person, hanging out with him in person.

Maybe, just maybe... Vanellope missed her hero, her big brother, her Stink Brain a little...or even _a lot_ , or...

Possibly maybe even more than _he_ could ever miss her.

Loving but not liking the overwhelmingly painful yet strangely peaceful emotions starting to swallow him up inside, Ralph just silently turned his cradled hand over so that Vanellope could bury her face into it- and so that he could gently rub the back of her head with his giant fingers.

As the two close friends stood in peaceful silence, holding each other as close as their friendship clearly was, Vanellope suddenly lifted her head, a few tears still in her eyes.

She cautiously reached down to grab her bag and held it to her tightly again, reminding Ralph of the whole start of the conversation in the first place.

The strange, fuzzy brown object in her bag.

"So...Shank kinda talked to the gang about it all," Vanellope continued, suddenly shyly digging her foot into the station's floor, slowly fishing around inside her bag. "And, well...Pyro searched high and low, and _finally_ was able to order an extra soft toy from ebay, and Butcher Boy sowed together these cute little overalls, and...well...They made _this_ for me."

Still a little hesitant, Vanellope pulled out from her bag a smallish size stuff animal: a soft-looking, fuzzy brown teddy bear...

That looked so much like Ralph it was uncanny.

The toy bear had been clearly altered to be made to look more like the wrecker - its body was rounder than most toy bears, no doubt packed with more fluff than an average toy bear. Its face had an extra gruffness to it, with over-exaggerated fluffy eyebrows and a fat, large nose. Yet, its grumpy demeanor was softened by two round, brown buttons as eyes, extra crazy, extra soft tuffs of fur on its head as hair, and a huge, cross-stitched smile stretching across its face.

Another unique feature was that the bear's arms weren't hanging by its sides, as most toy stuff animals were designed to be. The arms on _this_ bear had been ripped, purposely bent at the elbow, twisted upwards, and sowed back to the arm sockets to have its noticeably huge, _huge_ paws about level with the bear's head...

Almost... in a wrecking-like position.

The chunky bear, too, was masterly decked out in true Wreck-It Ralph attire- a small, light green undershirt just barely peeking out from under an equally small, orange plaid shirt. A tiny pair of frayed, broken overalls were placed on top of the two shirts- and there was even one obviously missing strap on the overalls, clearly having been torn off to make it look as close in resemblance to Ralph's as possible.

Around the toy's neck was the arguably the best, most touching detail of the whole toy bear, though: a tiny, complete version of the cookie medal necklace Vanellope had made so long ago.

The adorable bear and all the tiny details it contained that was so close to matching Ralph's physical description and even personality made the wrecker gawk openly, shocked and touched beyond words.

Smiling at her friend's reaction to the toy form of himself, Vanellope chuckled softly. Like she was handing over the most indefinitely precious treasure she'd ever own, she gently and carefully placed the toy bear in Ralph's hands.

"Squeeze his freakishly big paws, Ralphie," she commanded him softly, all the tears and pain and sadness gone completely from her eyes.

Still in shock, Ralph obeyed her commands and pushed one of the bear's huge palms- and his shock deepened that much more when he suddenly heard himself laughing through the bear.

" _Look at these guys!_ " Ralph's gruff yet affectionate voice softly chimed somewhere through the bear's round stomach. _"He's sleepin' under his ear! You couch potatoes- wake up!"_

 _"...And you just want to blend that out like this...and that, my friend, is how you achieve the perfect cat eye..."_

 _"I wonder what's inside this little box here..."_

 _"And then you can paint a happy little tree...he needs a friend, too. Everyone needs a friend..."_

 _"After 6 hours, you take the pie out of the oven...Hmmm, smell good- ARGH! FIRE!..."_

" _I'm gonnaa wreck itTtTiTi!"_

When the bear finally stopped speaking, Ralph couldn't help blink up at Vanellope in pure awe and daze, making her smile grow all the more.

"Yess made a montage of all the _cringy_ BuzzTube videos you made to pay for the steering wheel, and placed on them recordable sound module," she explained to him with a giggle. "That way all I have to do is press one of his hammy paws and I can _instantly_ hear your voice whenever I need to."

Ralph just raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly in a complete stupor.

The fact everyone in Vanellope's new home in the internet had chipped in to take care of her, taking so much time and effort to make this toy perfectly like Ralph for his kid...all just in order for her to feel like she was somehow with him yet without him...

Words completely failed the over emotional wrecker as he ran a hand through his hair. A wobbly smile coming over his face, he stared down at his bear look-alike in the other hand, trying his best not to break out into an unmanly sob. Especially in front of _Vanellope_ , for Saga's sakes.

"Now, I can't sleep anywhere about him," the child then murmured softly and shyly, rubbing to the toe of her boot over the top of the station's hard floor once again. "He kinda helps me sleep better."

At her words, Vanellope fondly and quickly took her precious bear back safely again in her hands and smiled from ear to ear at it before she looked back at Ralph.

"And when Shank isn't enough to wreck my nightmares," she paused just long enough to hug the little bear toy tightly to her heart, "...little 'Stink Bear' here is."

At that, she childishly snuggled the bottom of her face up against the bear's fuzzy hair. In uncharacteristically way, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut- joy and contentment and happiness so readable on her face now...and reminding Ralph all the more that Vanellope was just a little kid deserving to feel those feelings.

For a moment seeming to be frozen in time in the best way possible, Vanellope couldn't help but blissfully hug her 'Stink Bear' close to her- and Ralph couldn't help but stare at her in pure, unconcealed adoration and sigh in his own peace and contentment at what he now undoubtedly knew.

His now knew little kid would be alright without him when she had nightmares, after all.

Because now, she had others, friends like Shank and her gang and Yess, to get her through the roughest of nights. And because of great friends like that, Vanellope wasn't going to ever be with Ralph in some way.

After a few moments of cuddling her toy, though, the child suddenly blinked up at her wrecker, embarrassment strong in her downcast eyes again as her cheeks began to blush.

"You're...you're gonna _make fun_ of me for being a diaper baby, aren't you?" she asked Ralph fearfully, her voice so shameful and worried.

At her expressed fear, Ralph's peaceful, adoring face was immediately replaced with a look of shock and even slight disgust.

 _Why would she ever think I'd seriously make fun of her like that?!_ his mind screamed at him...before remembering that Vanellope was more of a feisty, sassy kid than a 'cuddling stuff animal' one- and that they ragged on each other about practically everything _else_ they possibly could.

And that even after all this time, Vanellope was still so scared to lose the love Ralph undoubtedly had for her.

But her nightmares -and now her favorite little stuff animal friend that helped her get through them- were things Ralph would never be able to poke at her for.

Unable to control himself, though, the wrecker _did_ melt into a joking smile.

"Nah," he shrugged her worry off as he reached over and gently pinched her blushed cheek. " _I'm_ the diaper baby, remember?"

A childish, relieved grin surfacing on her face, Vanellope chuckled softly. Setting her toy down back on the station's floor, the child couldn't help but jump heartily in Ralph's arms again, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly but softly.

Now all too used to her surprise jumps, Ralph just chuckled slightly into her shoulder and hugged her back.

"I'm so happy you've got your Stink Bear, kid," he whispered softly, patting her back as he closed his eyes contently. "And that he helps ya at night and all."

On his shoulder he heard Vanellope chuckle and sniffle, not knowing her own eyes were closed due to the same feeling of contentment.

"Yeah, but...just know he's _still_ no real replacement for you," she whispered softly back, burying her head a little closer, a little deeper to her hero...

No doubt being right where she had waited a few _looong_ weeks for- and now, the child was happy that the time actually seemed to stand so still.

Life was just so perfect like that sometimes.

After a few moments of holding each other so close they could hear the other's steady, calming heartbeat, Vanellope suddenly sat up in Ralph's arms again, a cheeky, playful smile replacing her happy, sentimental one.

Quickly glitching back onto the ground, she carefully placed her beloved Stink Bear back in her bag, zipped him hiddenly back inside, and swung the bag's straps over her shoulder- undoubtingly ready for a fun weekend with her Stink _Brain_.

"Now...," she instructed as she began to skipped away, "onwards to _Tappers_ and the cold drink you owe me!" She paused to turn around and smirk at Ralph happily. "'Cause, you know, _you lost the bet_ and all..."

Shaking his head and standing back up, Ralph didn't immediately follow her. He instead placed his hands on his hips and chuckled fondly at her childish taunting for a moment.

Suddenly breaking into a sprint, he quickly raced up behind her to scoop his Fart Feathers up and place her on his shoulder- where he (and she) knew the child indefinitely would always belong.

"You're not going to let that go until the _next_ time you come stay with me, are you, Fart Feathers?"

"You wanna bet?"

 **(E/N: I might end up writing a sequel story to this- I have this other idea in my head that includes _all four_ of the Core Four members when Vanellope stays with Ralph for the rest of the weekend. Idk yet. I hoped all enjoying reading this story, though! :D lol)**


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